The invention relates to an X-ray tube comprising a cathode and an anode which are accommodated in an envelope, said anode comprising an anode support which is made of a material having comparatively high thermal conductivity.
An X-ray tube of this kind is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,205,251. For the detection of elements having a comparatively low atomic number, for example lower than 20, by means of X-ray spectral analysis, known X-ray tubes are not ideally suitable, because the X-rays to be generated therein for the analysis of light elements contain an insufficient amount of long-wave X-rays.
For generating comparatively long-wave X-rays, it is desirable to use an anode material containing an element having a low atomic number. However, problems are then encountered because such materials, for example, are difficult to machine, have a poor thermal conductivity, and are expensive. Moreover, several of these materials frequently also occur in the specimens to be analyzed. The cost and particularly the poor thermal conductivity usually make it unattractive to manufacture an anode block from these materials.